Lucretia Borgia Part 17

When the Pope discovered, during this conversation, that we had so far been unable to secure an audience with the ill.u.s.trious Duke, he showed great annoyance, declaring it was a mistake which could only injure his Majesty, and he added that the amba.s.sadors of Rimini had been here two months without succeeding in speaking with him, as he was in the habit of turning day into night and night into day. He severely criticized his son's mode of living. On the other hand, he commended the ill.u.s.trious d.u.c.h.ess, saying that she was always gracious, and granted audiences readily, and that whenever there was need she knew how to cajole. He lauded her highly, and stated that she had ruled Spoleto to the satisfaction of everybody, and he also said that her Majesty always knew how to carry her point--even with himself, the Pope. I think that his Holiness spoke in this way more for the purpose of saying good of her (which according to my opinion she deserved) than to avoid saying anything ill, even if there were occasion for it. Your Majesty's Ever devoted.

ROME, _October 6th_.

The Pope seldom allowed an opportunity to pa.s.s for praising his daughter's beauty and graciousness. He frequently compared her with the most famous women of Italy--the Marchioness of Mantua and the d.u.c.h.ess of Urbino. One day, while conversing with the amba.s.sadors of Ferrara, he mentioned her age, saying that in October (1502) she would complete her twenty-second year, while Caesar would be twenty-six the same month.[122]

The Pope was greatly pleased with the members of the bridal escort, for they all were either princes of the house of Este or prominent persons of Ferrara. He also approved the selection of Annibale Bentivoglio, son of the Lord of Bologna, and said laughingly to the Ferrarese amba.s.sadors that, even if their master had chosen Turks to come to Rome for the bride, they would have been welcome.

The Florentines, owing to their fear of Caesar, sent amba.s.sadors to Lucretia to ask her to come by way of their city when she went to Ferrara; the Pope, however, was determined that she should make the journey through Romagna. According to an oppressive custom of the day, the people through whose country persons of quality traveled were required to provide for them, and, in order not to tax Romagna too heavily, it was decided that the Ferrarese escort should come to Rome by way of Tuscany. The Republic of Florence firmly refused to entertain the escort all the time it was in its territory, although it was willing to care for it while in the city or to make a handsome present.[123]

In the meantime preparations were under way in Ferrara for the wedding festivities. The Duke invited all the princes who were friendly to him to be present. He had even thought of the oration which was to be delivered in Ferrara when Lucretia was given to her husband. During the Renaissance these orations were regarded as of the greatest importance, and he was anxious to secure a speaker who could be depended upon to deliver a masterpiece. Ercole had instructed his amba.s.sadors in Rome to send him particulars regarding the house of Borgia for the orator to use in preparing his speech.[124]

The amba.s.sadors scrupulously carried out their instructions, and wrote their sovereign as follows:

ILl.u.s.tRIOUS PRINCE AND MASTER: We have spared no efforts to learn everything possible regarding the ill.u.s.trious house of Borgia, as your Excellency commanded. We made a thorough investigation, and members of our suite here in Rome, not only the scholars but also those who we knew were loyal to you, did the same. Although we finally succeeded in ascertaining that the house is one of the n.o.blest and most ancient in Spain, we did not discover that its founders ever did anything very remarkable, perhaps because life in that country is quiet and uneventful--your Excellency knows that such is the case in Spain, especially in Valencia.

Whatever there is worthy of note dates from the time of Calixtus, and, in fact, the deeds of Calixtus himself are those most worthy of comment; Platina, however, has given an account of his life, which, moreover, is well known to everybody. Whoever is to deliver the oration has ample material, therefore, from which to choose.

We, ill.u.s.trious Sir, have been able to learn nothing more regarding this house than what you already know, and this concerns only the members of the family who have been Popes, and is derived chiefly from the audience speeches. In case we succeed in finding out anything more, we shall inform your Excellency, to whom we commend ourselves in all humility.

ROME, _October 18, 1501_.

When the descendant of the ancient house of Este read this terse despatch he must have smiled; its candor was so undiplomatic that it bordered on irony. The doughty amba.s.sadors, however, apparently did not go to the right sources, for if they had applied to the courtiers who were intimate with the Borgia--for example, the Porcaro--they would have obtained a genealogical tree showing a descent from the old kings of Aragon, if not from Hercules himself.

In the meantime the impatience of the Pope and Lucretia was steadily increasing, for the departure of the bridal escort was delayed, and the enemies of the Borgia were already beginning to make merry. The duke declared that he could not think of sending for Donna Lucretia until the bull of invest.i.ture was in his hands. He complained at the Pope's delay in fulfilling his promises. He also demanded that the part of the marriage portion which was to be paid in coin through banking houses in Venice, Bologna, and other cities be handed over on the bridal escort's entry into Rome, and threatened in case it was not paid in full to have his people return to Ferrara without the bride.[125] As it was impossible for him to bring about the immediate cession of Cento and Pievi, he asked from the Pope as a pledge that either the bishopric of Bologna be given his son Ippolito, or that his Holiness furnish a bond.

He also demanded certain benefices for his natural son Don Giulio, and for his amba.s.sador Gianluca Pozzi. Lucretia succeeded in securing the bishopric of Reggio for the latter and also a house in Rome for the Ferrarese envoy.

Another important question was the dowry of jewels which Lucretia was to receive. During the Renaissance the pa.s.sion for jewels amounted to a mania. Ercole sent word to his daughter-in-law that she must not dispose of her jewels, but must bring them with her; he also said that he would send her a handsome ornament by the bridal escort, gallantly adding that, as she herself was a precious jewel, she deserved the most beautiful gems--even more magnificent ones than he and his own consort had possessed; it is true he was not so wealthy as the Duke of Savoy, but, nevertheless, he was in a position to send her jewels no less beautiful than those given her by the duke.[126]

The relations between Ercole and his daughter-in-law were as friendly as could be desired, for Lucretia exerted herself to secure the Pope's consent to his demands. His Holiness, however, was greatly annoyed by the duke's conduct; he sent urgent requests to him to despatch the escort to Rome, and a.s.sured him that the two castles in Romagna would be delivered over to him before Lucretia reached Ferrara, but in case she did arrive there first that everything she asked would be granted--his love for her was such that he even thought of paying her a visit in Ferrara in the spring.[127] The Pope suspected, however, that the delay in sending the bridal escort was due to the machinations of Maximilian.

Even as late as November the emperor had despatched his secretary, Agostino s.e.m.e.nza, to the duke to warn him not to send the escort to Rome, adding that he would show his grat.i.tude to Ercole. November 22d the duke wrote the imperial plenipotentiary a letter in which he stated that he had immediately sent a courier to his amba.s.sador in Rome; it would soon be winter, and the time would therefore be unfavorable for bringing Lucretia; if the Pope was willing, he would postpone the wedding, but he would not break off with him entirely. His Majesty should remember that if he did this, the Pope would become his bitterest enemy, and would persecute him, and might even make war on him. It was, he stated, for the express purpose of avoiding this that he had consented to enter into an alliance with his Holiness. He, therefore, hoped that his Majesty would not expose him to this danger, but that, with his usual justice, he would appreciate his excuses.[128]

At the same time he instructed his amba.s.sadors in Rome to inform the Pope of the emperor's threats, and to say to him that he was ready to fulfil his own obligations and also to urge his Holiness to have the bulls prepared at once, as further delay was dangerous.

Alexander thereupon fell into a rage; he overwhelmed the amba.s.sadors with reproaches, and called the duke a "tradesman." On December 1st Ercole announced to the emperor's messenger that he was unable longer to delay sending the bridal escort, for, if he did, it would mean a rupture with the Pope. The same day he wrote to his amba.s.sadors in Rome and complained of the use of the epithet "tradesman," which the Pope had applied to him.[129] He, however, rea.s.sured his Holiness by informing him that he had decided to despatch the bridal escort from Ferrara the ninth or tenth of December.[130]

[Ill.u.s.tration: ERCOLE D'ESTE, DUKE OF FERRARA.]

FOOTNOTES:

[117] Lucretia to Ercole, October 18th; Ercole to Lucretia, October 23d.

[118] Gerardo to Ercole, October 15, 1501.

[119] Ercole to Don Francesco de Roxas, October 24, 1501.

[120] Gerardo Saraceni to Ercole, Rome, October 26, 1501.

[121] Per essere queste romane salvatiche et male apte a cavallo.

[122] Gerardo to Ercole, October 26, 1501.

[123] The orator Manfredo Manfredi to Ercole, Florence, November 22 and 24, 1501.

[124] The duke to his amba.s.sadors in Rome, October 7, 1501.

[125] Ercole to Gerardo Saraceni, November 24, 1501. Other letters of like import were written by the duke to his plenipotentiaries.

[126] Ercole to Gerardo Saraceni in Rome, October 11, 1501.

[127] Despatch of the Ferrarese amba.s.sadors to Ercole, Rome, October 31, 1501.

[128] Il quale mal effecto volendo nui fugire, seamo condescesi a contrahere la affinita c.u.m soa Sant.i.ta. Responsum illmi Dni ducis Ferrarie D. Augustino Semetie Ces Mtis secretario. Ferrara, November 22, 1501.

[129] Che il procedere del Duca era un procedere da mercatante. Ercole to Gerardo Saraceni, December 1, 1501.

[130] Ercole to Alexander VI, December 1, 1501.

CHAPTER XXII

ARRIVAL AND RETURN OF THE BRIDAL ESCORT

In the meantime Lucretia's trousseau was being prepared with an expense worthy of a king's daughter. On December 13, 1501, the agent in Rome of the Marchese Gonzaga wrote his master as follows: "The portion will consist of three hundred thousand ducats, not counting the presents which Madonna will receive from time to time. First a hundred thousand ducats are to be paid in money in instalments in Ferrara. Then there will be silverware to the value of three thousand ducats; jewels, fine linen, costly trappings for horses and mules, together worth another hundred thousand. In her wardrobe she has a trimmed dress worth more than fifteen thousand ducats, and two hundred costly s.h.i.+fts, some of which are worth a hundred ducats apiece; the sleeves alone of some of them cost thirty ducats each, being trimmed with gold fringe." Another person reported to the Marchesa Isabella that Lucretia had one dress worth twenty thousand ducats, and a hat valued at ten thousand. "It is said," so the Mantuan agent writes, "that more gold has been prepared and sold here in Naples in six months than has been used heretofore in two years. She brings her husband another hundred thousand ducats, the value of the castles (Cento and Pieve), and will also secure the remission of Ferrara's tribute. The number of horses and persons the Pope will place at his daughter's disposal will amount to a thousand.

There will be two hundred carriages--among them some of French make, if there is time--and with these will come the escort which is to take her."[131]

The duke finally concluded to send the bridal escort, although the bulls were not ready for him. As he was anxious to make the marriage of his son with Lucretia an event of the greatest magnificence, he sent a cavalcade of more than fifteen hundred persons for her. At their head were Cardinal Ippolito and five other members of the ducal house; his brothers, Don Ferrante and Don Sigismondo; also Niccol Maria d'Este, Bishop of Adria; Meliaduse d'Este, Bishop of Comacchio; and Don Ercole, a nephew of the duke. In the escort were numerous prominent friends and kinsmen or va.s.sals of the house of Ferrara, lords of Correggio and Mirandola; the Counts Rangone of Modena; one of the Pio of Carpi; the Counts Bevilacqua, Roverella, Sagrato, Strozzi of Ferrara, Annibale Bentivoglio of Bologna, and many others.

These gentlemen, magnificently clad, and with heavy gold chains about their necks, mounted on beautiful horses, left Ferrara December 9th, with thirteen trumpeters and eight fifes at their head; and thus this wedding cavalcade, led by a worldly cardinal, rode noisily forth upon their journey. In our time such an aggregation might easily be mistaken for a troop of trick riders. Nowhere did this brave company of knights pay their reckoning; in the domain of Ferrara they lived on the duke; in other words, at the expense of his subjects. In the lands of other lords they did the same, and in the territory of the Church the cities they visited were required to provide for them.

In spite of the luxury of the Renaissance, traveling was at that time very disagreeable; everywhere in Europe it was as difficult then as it is now in the Orient. Great lords and ladies, who to-day flit across the country in comfortable railway carriages, traveled in the sixteenth century, even in the most civilized states of Europe, mounted on horses or mules, or slowly in sedan-chairs, exposed to all the inclemencies of wind and weather, and unpaved roads. The cavalcade was thirteen days on the way from Ferrara to Rome--a journey which can now be made in a few hours.

Finally, on December 22d, it reached Monterosi, a wretched castle fifteen miles from Rome. All were in a deplorable condition, wet to the skin by winter rains, and covered with mud; and men and horses completely tired out. From this place the cardinal sent a messenger with a herald to Rome to receive the Pope's commands. Answer was brought that they were to enter by the Porta del Popolo.

The entrance of the Ferrarese into Rome was the most theatrical event that occurred during the reign of Alexander VI. Processions were the favorite spectacles of the Middle Ages; State, Church, and society displayed their wealth and power in magnificent cavalcades. The horse was symbolic of the world's strength and magnificence, but with the disappearance of knighthood it lost its place in the history of civilization. How the love of form and color of the people of Italy--the home of processions--has changed was shown in Rome, July 2, 1871, when Victor Emmanuel entered his new capital. Had this episode--one of the weightiest in the whole history of Italy--occurred during the Renaissance, it would have been made the occasion of a magnificent triumph. The entrance into Rome of the first king of united Italy was made, however, in a few dust-covered carriages, which conveyed the monarch and his court from the railway station to their lodgings; yet in this bourgeois simplicity there was really more moral greatness than in any of the triumphs of the Caesars. That the love of parades which existed in the Renaissance has died out is, perhaps, to be regretted, for occasions still arise when they are necessary.

Alexander's prestige would certainly have suffered if, on the occasion of a family function of such importance, he had failed to offer the people as evidence of his power a brilliant spectacle of some sort. The very fact that Adrian VI did not understand and appreciate this requirement of the Renaissance made him the b.u.t.t of the Romans.

At ten o'clock on the morning of December 23d the Ferrarese reached the Ponte Molle, where breakfast was served in a nearby villa. The appearance of this neighborhood must at that time have been different from what it is to-day. There were casinos and wine houses on the slopes of Monte Mario--whose summit was occupied even at that time by a villa belonging to the Mellini--and on the hills beyond the Flaminian Way.

Nicholas V had restored the bridge over the Tiber, and also begun a tower nearby, which Calixtus III completed. Between the Ponte Molle and the Porta del Popolo there was then,--just as there is now,--a wretched suburb.

[Ill.u.s.tration: CASTLE OF S. ANGELO, ROME.]

At the bridge crossing the Tiber they found a wedding escort composed of the senators of Rome, the governor of the city, and the captain of police, accompanied by two thousand men, some on foot and some mounted.

Half a bowshot from the gate the cavalcade met Caesar's suite. First came six pages, then a hundred mounted n.o.blemen, followed by two hundred Swiss clothed in black and yellow velvet with the arms of the Pope, birettas on their heads, and bearing halberds. Behind them rode the Duke of Romagna with the amba.s.sador of France at his side, who wore a French costume and a golden sash. After greeting each other mid the blare of trumpets, the gentlemen dismounted from their horses. Caesar embraced Cardinal Ippolito and rode at his side as far as the city gate.

If Valentino's following numbered four thousand and the city officials two thousand more, it is difficult to conceive, taking the spectators also into account, how so large a number of people could congregate before the Porta del Popolo. The rows of houses which now extend from this gate could not have been in existence then, and the s.p.a.ce occupied by the Villa Borghese must have been vacant. At the gate the cavalcade was met by nineteen cardinals, each accompanied by two hundred persons.

The reception here, owing to the oration, required over two hours, consequently it was evening when it was over.